Employment Agreement, dated August 15, 2003, of Scott C. Butera



 Exhibit 10.17 
  
 August 15, 2003 
  
 Scott Butera 
 [Address] 
  
 Dear Mr. Butera: 
  
 This letter will serve to confirm our understanding and agreement pursuant to which Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts, Inc.
and Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts Holdings, L.P. (collectively “Trump”) have agreed to employ you, and you have agreed to be employed by Trump commencing as of September 3, 2003, and expiring September 2, 2006 (“Expiration
Date”), unless terminated earlier by Trump pursuant to Paragraph 11 or 12 hereof. You may not disclose in any manner the existence, terms or conditions of this Agreement to any third party without the prior written consent of Trump. 

 

	 	1.	You shall be employed by Trump in the capacity of Executive Vice President/Director of Corporate and Strategic Development to perform such duties as may be specified, from time to
time, by Trump. 

  

	 	2.	Commencing September 1, 2003, you shall be paid an annual salary at a rate of $1.5 Million ($1,500,000.00) Dollars per annum, payable periodically in accordance with Trump’s
regular payroll practices. 

  

	 	3.	You shall be afforded coverage under Trump’s employee insurance programs in such form and at such levels as Trump, in its sole and absolute discretion, may hereafter elect to
provide for similarly situated executives. 

  

	 	4.      a.	You shall be entitled to participate in Trump’s benefit programs in such form and at such levels as Trump, in its sole and absolute discretion, may hereafter elect to provide
similarly situated executives. 

  

	 	b.	You shall also have executive comping privileges at such levels, if any, as Trump in its sole and absolute discretion, shall establish from time to time for similarly situated
executives. 

  

	 	5.      a.	In the event this Agreement is terminated by you for any reason or by the Company for any reason set forth in Paragraph 11, you agree that for a period of six (6) months after
termination of your employment, you will not accept employment, either as an employee, consultant or independent contractor, with or on behalf of any casino licensee or casino license applicant in or within a 250 mile radius of any casino owned,
operated or managed by Trump or any subsidiary or affiliate thereof; 

  

	 	b.	You agree that for a period of six (6) months after the termination of your employment with Trump, whether before or after the Expiration Date, you shall not solicit or otherwise
discuss employment, directly or through any other company, any employees of Trump, or any of its related or affiliated companies. 

  










	 	c.	You acknowledge and agree that the restrictive covenants set forth in this Paragraph are reasonable as to duration, terms and geographical area and that the same are necessary to
protect the legitimate interests of Trump, impose no undue hardship on you and are not injurious to the public. 

  

	 	6.      a.	You hereby agree that throughout the term of this Agreement you shall devote your full time, attention and efforts to Trump’s business and shall not, directly or indirectly,
work for, consult with or otherwise engage in any other activities of a business nature for any other person or entity, without Trump’s prior written consent. 

  

	 	b.	You agree that any work, invention, innovation, idea or report which you produce or which results from or is suggested by the Work you do on behalf of Trump is a “work for
hire” and will be the sole property of Trump. (Such work, invention, innovation, ideas and reports are referred to as the “Work”). You will promptly communicate to Trump, in writing when requested, all Work which is conceived or
developed by you, alone or with others, at any time while you are employed by Trump. The foregoing applies whether or not the Work was conceived or performed during Trump’s business hours or on Trump’s equipment. Both during and after
termination of your employment, you agree to sign any documents which Trump deems necessary to confirm its ownership of the Work, and you agree to otherwise cooperate with Trump in order to allow Trump to take full advantage of the Work as Trump may
require. This may include assisting Trump in obtaining patents, copyrights or other legal protection of the Work for Trump’s benefit (although the Work will be the exclusive property of Trump, whether or not patented or copyrighted).


  

	 	7.	You acknowledge that you have access to information which is proprietary and confidential to Trump. This information includes, but is not limited to, (1) the identity of customers
and prospects, (2) names, addresses and phone numbers of individual contacts, (3) pricing policies, marketing strategies, product strategies and methods of operation, and (4) expansion plans, management policies and other business strategies and
policies. You acknowledge and understand that this information must be maintained in strict confidence in order for Trump to protect its business and its competitive position in the marketplace. Accordingly, both during and after termination of your
employment, you agree that you will not disclose any of this information for any purpose or remove materials containing this information from Trump’s premises. Upon termination of your employment, you will immediately return to Trump all
correspondence files, business card files, customer and prospect lists, price books, technical data, notes and other materials which contain any of this information, and you will not retain copies of those materials. 

  

	 	8.	You represent to Trump that there are no restrictions or agreements to which you are a party which would be violated by our execution of this Agreement and your employment
hereunder. 

  

	 	9.	You hereby agree to comply with all of the rules, regulations, policies and/or procedures adopted by Trump during the term of this Agreement, as well as all applicable state,
federal and local laws, regulations and ordinances. 

  

	 	10.	You hereby represent that you presently hold, or, prior to commencement of your employment with Trump, shall apply for, obtain and hold the New Jersey Casino Control Commission
qualification or license required in connection with your employment hereunder and will take appropriate steps to renew said license in a timely manner. 

  

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	 	11.	You hereby understand and acknowledge that Trump may terminate this Agreement in the event your Casino Control Commission license is terminated and/or suspended or revoked by the
Commission or if you shall commit an act constituting “Cause”, which is defined to mean any of the following: a breach by you of any of the provisions of this Agreement or any employee conduct rules; an act of dishonesty; the deliberate
and intentional refusal by you to perform your duties hereunder or your failure, as determined solely by Trump, to properly perform and execute your duties hereunder; any act which in Trump’s sole opinion would adversely reflect upon Trump or
would impair your ability to effectively perform your duties hereunder; alcohol or drug addiction; your disability, which is defined to be any condition prohibiting you from performing your duties hereunder to a period in excess of ninety (90) days,
or your death. In the event of a termination pursuant to this Paragraph, Trump shall pay to you your salary earned to the date of termination and shall have no further liability or obligation to you under this Agreement. 

  

	 	12.	You hereby also understand and acknowledge that, notwithstanding any other provision hereof, Trump may terminate this Agreement for no cause in its sole discretion immediately upon
notice to you. In such event, Trump shall pay and you shall accept in satisfaction of all obligations and liabilities hereunder, an amount equal to the lesser of twelve (12) months or the number of months then remaining in this Agreement at your
then current salary. You shall, in such event, execute any and all release documents requested by Trump as a condition precedent to obtaining any amounts under this Paragraph 12. 

  

	 	13.	Unless extended in a writing signed by you and Trump, this Agreement shall terminate on the Expiration Date and your employment thereafter shall continue, if at all, on an
“at-will” basis. This means that you and Trump will no longer have a contractual relationship and that either you or Trump will have the right to terminate your employment with or without cause and with or without notice. After your
employment with Trump is terminated, whether pursuant to a contract or otherwise, you understand and acknowledge that your obligations set forth in Paragraphs 5, 6 and 7 of this Agreement shall survive and remain in full force and effect.


  

	 	14.	Trump shall indemnify, defend and hold you harmless, including the payment of reasonable attorney fees, if Trump does not directly provide your defense, from and against any and all
claims made by anyone, including, but not limited to, a corporate entity, company, other employee, agent, patron or member of the general public which assert as a basis, any acts, omissions or other circumstances involving the performance of your
employment duties hereunder unless such claims are based upon your gross negligence or any willful and/or wanton act. This Paragraph shall not apply in any actions in which your interests are adverse to that of Trump. 

  

	 	15.	You represent that you are a citizen of the United States or that you possess the proper visa and/or work permits necessary to perform your functions hereunder.


  

	 	16.	You acknowledge that it would be extremely difficult to measure the damages that might result from any breach by you of your promises in Sections 5, 6 and 7 of this Agreement and
that a breach may cause irreparable injury to Trump which could not be compensated by money damages. Accordingly, Trump will be entitled to enforce this Agreement by obtaining a court order prohibiting you (and any others involved) from breaching
this Agreement. If a court decides that any part of this Agreement is too broad, the court may limit that part and enforce it as limited. 

  

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	 	17.	If any provision hereof is unenforceable, illegal or invalid for any reason whatsoever, such fact shall not affect the remaining provisions hereof. If any of the provisions hereof
which impose restrictions on you are, with respect to such restrictions, determined by a final judgment of any court of competent jurisdiction to be unenforceable or invalid because of the geographic scope or time duration of such restrictions, such
provisions shall be deemed retroactively modified to provide for the maximum geographic scope and time duration which would make such provisions enforceable and valid. However, no such retroactive modification shall affect any of Employer’s
rights hereunder arising out of the breach of any such restrictive provisions, including without limitation, Trump’s rights to terminate this Agreement. 

  

	 	18.	This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New Jersey and in any lawsuit involving this Agreement, you consent to the jurisdiction
and venue of any state or federal court located in New Jersey. This Agreement represents the entire agreement between the parties, superceding any and all previous agreements, and may not be modified, amended, extended or renewed without the written
agreement of both parties. 

  
 If the foregoing
correctly sets forth our understanding, kindly sign and return to me the duplicate copy of this letter enclosed herewith. 
  

	
	 Very truly yours,

	
	/s/ DONALD J. TRUMP
	

	 DONALD J. TRUMP
 Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer



  
 Agreed to this              day of                     ,
2003. 
  

	
	
	/s/ SCOTT BUTERA
	

	 SCOTT BUTERA


  

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